Principals acknowledge colleague

by TONY SHAW
Catholic secondary school principals of Christchurch diocese met at the end of 2015 to farewell Marian College principal Anna Heffernan. Principals farewelling their colleague, Anna Heffernan (holding flowers) are, from left: Deborah Brosnahan (Villa MariaCollege), Kieran Stone (John Paul II High School), Chris Comeau (Roncalli College), Justin Boyle (St Bede’s College)and Tony Shaw (Catholic Cathedral College) Absent: Christine O’Neill (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
Mrs Heffernan has been the chair of this association for several years, and was also chair of the National Association of Principals of Catholic Secondary Schools.
She has made a valued contribution to Catholic education locally and nationally and has been most supportive of new principals as they have moved into this challenging and important role.
Through the work of the association and her leadership, the network of Catholic schools has developed and strengthened. This is important in creating a collaborative network that aims to achieve the goals of the New Zealand Catholic bishops in their recent publication: The Catholic Education of School Aged Children (NZ Catholic Bishops Conference 2014).
In the five years since the Christchurch earthquakes, Mrs Heffernan has shown strength and integrity in her leadership as she has worked to ensure Marian College has coped with site changes, uncertainty, and the stress that that created. She has at the same time shown dedicated support for the network of Catholic schools in the diocese. We wish her every success in her new role as associate principal of St Dominic’s College, Auckland.

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